Caroline and the forty dozen
by CitizenNancy
Summary: Caroline offers to make a whole lotta cookies!


Caroline and the 40 Dozen  
  
Caroline, Richard, Del and Annie were traveling to Carolines parents house from their hotel. Caroline, after her horrible breakup with Joe, decided to spend this years christmas holiday in her hometown in Wisconsin. She didnt want to hang around her loft with nothing but memories of Joe dancing through her mind. He had helped her decorate the loft for the holidays. He left the decorations there after he had left. Annie, deciding that Caroline shouldnt have to make this trip alone, had a talk with Richard and Del.  
  
"Look at her, she is so sad." Annie said as Caroline sat on the couch playing with a cat nip toy that belonged to Salty, her cat. Salty had tried to get back her prized possesion but soon gave up when she realized that her owner wasnt going to surrender it anytime soon. "We gotta do something. Maybe we could set her up with a christmast date or something. Let me get my little black book." She offered.  
"Little? Doubtful. Your little black book is so huge you need a forklift just to carry it." Richard snarled.  
"Shut up!" Annie said. "What do you think Del?"  
"Shes been talking about home lately. She hasnt been home for christmas in a while. Maybe if she went, then she'd feel a little bit better about the...you know."  
"The big fight?" Caroline said looking up. "You can say it."  
"Caroline." Annie said softly.  
"Its not big deal, I mean even Richard said that Joe would want to date someone his own age sometime. I was just hoping it wouldnt be true." Caroline said. She got up on her feet. "Del is right. I need to get out of this city. It would be good for me." Caroline said thinking. "I'm gonna call my folks."  
"Thats a great idea." Del said.  
"But I got one thing to ask of you guys?" Caroline said looking a them as she dialed her parents phone number.  
"What?" Annie asked.  
"I am not looking after that cat." Richard said. "The last time I did that for you the rats at my apartment held it hostage."  
"Oh no." Caroline said. "Annies mom will look after Salty. I want you guys to come with me."  
Everyone muttered excuses, hot dates, business meetings, gallery openings.  
"Oh please?" Caroline said, her sad look returning to her face.  
"Uh oh, shes giving us that face." Del said.  
"What face?" Annie asked.  
"You'll see." Richard said.  
"It would mean so much to me." Caroline said.  
"Oh all right." Annie said.  
"See?" Del said to Richard. "No one can resist the power of a Caroline Duffy pout."  
"How do you think she got me to catsit last time?" Richard moaned. "We'll come too, if only to keep Annie from adding a couple hundred new pages to her little black book." Annie glared at him.  
"Great!" Caroline said as someone picked up on her end of the phone. "Hi, mom? I'm coming home!"  
  
The Duffy residence  
  
After navigating a slippery driveway, the gang finally arrived at the Duffy homestead. Caroline went to get her bags, but found that Del had seemingly volunteered to carry hers and Annies bags too. Richard only had a small black bag and a sketching pad. Caroline moved to knock on the door. Richard rolled his eyes.  
"You're knocking?" He said irritably. It was getting cold out.  
"Well, yeah." Caroline said. "It's rude not to."  
"You LIVED here I think you pretty much have permission to go in without knocking." Richard replied.  
"Okay." Caroline said. She opened the door. "Mom, I'm home....oh my god!" Caroline said as she went in. She came to a dead halt. She turned and ran out the door. Annie, Del and Richard watched her run by.  
"What the hell was that all about?" Annie said.  
"Maybe she finally smelled your perfume." Richard said.  
Carolines mom, clad in a white fluffy robe appeared at the door. What made Caroline run for the hills was all too clear.  
"Mrs Duffy?" Del said.  
"Oh hi Del, girl, guy." Carolines mom said, momentarilly forgetting who Annie and Richard are. "Where did she go?"  
"Out to the car." Annie said. "What happened?"  
"I guess Caroline caught me and her father....well you know...she should have knocked really." Mrs Duffy said. Del and Annie looked at Richard who barely shrugged.  
"How was I supposed to know?" He asked. He sighed. "I'll go get her."  
  
Richard saw Caroline sitting in her car. He got in on the other side and sat next to her.  
"Are you all right?" Richard asked. "Your mom and dad are worried."  
"Worried? I could have sworn they were busy..." Caroline said. "I always wondered why psychiatrists in New York got a lot of business." She mused.  
"Come on in." Richard said. "This christmas joy stuff will only be more painful if you sit here in the car the entire time playing with the radio." Richard said. "Come on. I bet theres egg nog. That is if Annie hasnt sucked it dry yet."  
Caroline let go of the steering wheel. "All right, I'll come in. The radio only gets one station. I don't think I'll be able to look at my folks the same again." Caroline said getting out.  
"Join the club." Richard said. "One of these days I promise I'll tell you the story about what I caught my mom doing once."  
"Thanks Richard." Caroline said. "For coming out."  
"Your welcome. Who else would do it for you?" He asked.  
  
Later  
  
Carolines mom and dad were drinking egg nog in the living room. They were now dressed in better clothes than when Caroline had caught them. There was a special church service at their local church that night. After Caroline gave her friends a tour of her home they joined them in the living room.  
"Where are you going dressed up so nice?" Caroline asked.  
"Theres a special church service tonight." Mrs Duffy said. "Do you want to come? They'll have more egg nog there."  
"Good thing, cause you're just about out of it here." Annie said.  
"I wonder why." Richard muttered. Annie glared at him.  
"I can't go." Del said as his pocket phone rang. "Charlie, has been calling me from New York all day." He said as he answered the phone.  
"Production problems with the new Eagle Greeting's sympathy greeting card, I don't want to be in the church with a ringing phone."  
"Okay." Caroline said. "Is everyone else coming?"  
"Sure, why not, church never killed anyone...yet." Richard said.  
"Great. Let's get going, we dont want to be the last ones there." Mrs Duffy said.  
  
The Church  
  
Caroline and her friends and family were going through the greeting line, talking to the priest, after the church service when her mom ran into an old friend of hers.  
"Karen Russell." Mrs Duffy said. "So good to see you."  
"Its good to see you too." Karen said. "But I wish it was under better circumstances."  
"Why do you say that Mrs Russell?" Caroline asked while Annie and Richard walked outside to wait.  
"Its the annual christmas sale." She said. "We have it every year if you remember." She said to Caroline. "We have all the things we need for the yard sale, but this year we also combining our bake sale with it." Karen said. "We want to raise money to buy a snow plow." She said. "Harold can't keep up with his shovel anymore." She said gesturing to a frozen looking man with a shovel in his hand. It was possible he had just barely shoveled the walk to the church, Caroline thought to herself.  
"How are you Mr Russell?" Caroline asked.  
"What?" He asked. "Who the hell are you?"  
"His memory isnt what it used to be." Karen apologized. "Its the Duffy girl, Caroline." She said to him.  
"I thought she married the sheep doctor." Harold said.  
"See?" Karen said. "I need all the help I can get." She said.  
Caroline thought for a moment. "I'll help!" Caroline said.  
"What?" Said Carolines mom said. Richard and Annie came inside.  
"I'll bake cookies." She said. "I have a great fudge peanut butter recipe!"  
"But I'll need more than cookies." Karen said.  
"I'll bake 40 dozen!" Caroline continued.  
"Uh oh, shes getting that crazy look in her eyes." Annie said.  
"The face, the look. I get a feeling there is a whole layer to Caroline I'm missing here, and it somewhat scares me." Richard said.  
"You and me both." Annie nodded. She grabbed Carolines arm. "Caroline what are you doing?"  
"I thought about what you said, get my mind off of Joe. This is the perfect way to do it." Caroline said. "Comfort food!"  
"But you won't be eating it." Annie said.  
"Sure I will, I'll just make an extra dozen." Caroline said with a smile on her face. "Then it will be 41."  
"Caroline, I say this as a friend, you're insane!" Annie said.  
"Hello dear." Karen said coming over to Caroline. "Thank you so much for volunteering. I just need them by tomorrow afternoon." She said. "I hope its not too much trouble for you."  
"Not at all!" Caroline said as she covered Annies mouth as she was about to object. "All in the name of charity!"  
"Wonderful." Karen said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Come Harold." She said.  
"Say hi to the sheep doctor for me." Harold said.  
"Will do." Richard said. "Sheep doctor?" He asked as the man walked out of ear shot.  
"Long story, dumb ending." Caroline said.  
"Caroline, can you make all those cookies in that little time?" Annie asked. "I know even Mrs Russell isn't really expecting you to make them all."  
"I made a promise. A Duffy never makes a promise they can't keep." Caroline said.  
"All right but youre gonna need help. Possibly of the shrink type, but I will do what I can." Annie said.  
"Richard?" Caroline asked. "What are you going to do?"  
"Go to bed. Wake me when its over." He mumbled as he got into the car. "I'm ready."  
"Men, typical, never help in the kitchen." Caroline said. "Now all we need is my recipe and some ingredients and away we go!"  
  
The Duffy Kitchen  
  
Richard tried in vain to sleep but since his room, a brother or sisters room originally he bet, was right over the kitchen he could hear all of the noise coming from it. There seemed to be banging all over the place, as if numerous people were looking for the same thing. Richard sighed and put his pillow over his head. It didnt work either, he just couldnt go to sleep. He heard one big bang, and what sounded like the kitchen door slamming. Richard got in his robe and headed out the door and down the main stairway. He got there in time to see Annie stomping out. She was muttering a mile a minute, what she was saying was anyones guess.  
"Annie? Problems?" He asked. Annie look up at him. "Finally run out of egg nog? I don't think many stores are open this neck of the woods."  
Annie glared at him and told him what happened. "Caroline!" She said in one word and went out the door.  
Richard shrugged off the mad Italian girl and headed into the kitchen were Caroline was sobbing at the table. "Caroline? Whats wrong?"  
"Me!" She said throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm wrong. I thought I could make all of these cookies by morning. I never could find that recipe I wanted so I said to Annie, hey lets make decorated sugar cookies. We can use those things, you know that make shapes...." She said making a weird motion with her hands.  
"Cookie cutters?" Richard asked.  
"Right. So we got them and we made the dough but we have another problem. How to decorate them once they are baked. That oven is, as Annie says, slower than one of those operas you like so much." She smiled at him. "Sorry."  
"No problem. Speaking of Annie I saw her on the way out." Richard said. "She said something about drill sergeant?"  
"I know. I was a little rough on her."  
"A little?"  
"Okay, very rough. I think she said something in Italian." Caroline said.  
"She only likes to use the curses." Richard said. "Do you remember what she said?"  
"Something about a goat." Caroline guessed.   
"You don't want to know." Richard said. "Let me help you." He said.  
"What? Don't you want to sleep? You drive back tomorrow night."  
"Believe me, if I let you do this alone, the only thing you'll be driving is yourself crazy." Richard said getting an apron. "How far along are we?"  
"Two dozen cooling." Caroline said.  
"This is gonna be a long night." Richard said. "We better get some coffee made."  
"I can do that!" Caroline rejoiced.  
"Is that all Annie said to you?" Richard asked as she prepared a coffeee pot.  
"Something about my mother too. And the goat." Caroline answered. "I don't want to know do I?"  
"Oh no, you don't ever want to know." Richard said. "Let's go, we got a lot of catching up to do."  
  
Mid morning  
  
After a couple of hours, the cookies were almost done. Caroline finally relented and decided that Mrs Russell would just have to accept the 20 dozen she had frosted. The other 20 dozen cookie she made were burnt badly enough to be considered coasters for drinks. Richard briefly considered taking them home so he could have something to clobber the cockroaches with but Caroline decided to just throw them to the dogs. Annie had come back, but she was still mad at Caroline. She sat and watched for a while, then went upstairs to bed. Del tried to get a cookie from them but he got his hand slapped several times by a ladel bearing Richard.  
"Unless you pay, forget it." Richard said. Del moaned, but finally gave up. "I'll just go to the sale then." He muttered before getting another call.  
Caroline packaged up the cookies and set them on the counter. Because of the sheer mount of cookies, Mrs Russell told them she would come over to get them. Richard wanted to give her the other ones but then remembered she would need a forklift to cart them around town. Caroline waved goodbye to Mrs Russell and sat down next to Richard.  
"We did it." Caroline said. "Not quite like I wanted to but we finished."  
"Yeah." Richard said. "I wonder how many of them will be actually sold?"  
"Who cares, they're out of this house." Caroline laughed. "Richard I want to thank you, for sticking with me."  
"Forget about it." Richard said. "I couldnt sleep." He said. "You got lucky." He looked at her. She smiled. He couldnt help but smile back at her. He put out his hand and ran his finger down her cheek. "You got frosting here."  
"Oh, I do?" She asked laughing. "What color."  
"Pink." He said. "Careful, that stuff will get everywhere."  
"Thanks. Again." She said.'  
"Quit thanking me. Let's clean this up so I can get some sleep." Richard said.  
"Oh you dont want to go to the church? We can get people to try our cookies." She said as she got a sponge.  
"Nah, you go on without me." He said. "I gotta drive home, remember?"  
"Oh all right." Caroline relented. "I don't want to clean this up."  
"Who will do it?" Richard asked.  
Caroline was about to answer when Del and Annie came in the kitchen door. "Oh Annie? Del? Can you do something for me?" Caroline asked with a big smile on her face.  
"Oh no." Del said. "What did we do now?"  
"Whatever it is, I'm already sorry." Annie replied.  
  
The End 


End file.
